Ball Talk

Todd Vanderwerff

Before I begin, allow me to get the obvious out of the way.

Baseball’s current playoff system is a far cry from what it once was. The wild card position eliminates all hope of an enthralling run at the division title.

While it is understandable that baseball wants to have two rounds of league playoffs and the World Series (TV ratings, y’know), the wild card saps the energy from the end of the season, when baseball needs all the energy it can get to compete with the resurgent NFL.

That said, baseball should go out of its way to overhaul its division system to be more like the NFL’s. Having four divisions per league isn’t a bad idea. If we had the North, South, East and West in each league, we would have four races to win the division and make the playoffs.

Sure some really good teams wouldn’t make the playoffs and two more teams would need to be added to make sure both leagues had a more divisible 16 teams, but it would be more exciting, and that’s all that matters.

That said, the Minnesota Twins aren’t going to win. Not by a long shot.

The Twins have a good, young team, but they lack two very important things: experience and home-field advantage.

While an argument can be made that the Twins are well-rested after essentially coasting through the last few weeks of the season on their assured playoff spot, the Twins have no experience in the clutch. While individual players have playoff experience, the team as a whole does not, and that’s often a more damaging problem.

The most damaging problem for the Twins, however, is their complete lack of ability to play on the road.

If the Twins had somehow clinched home-field advantage, they would have roared through the playoffs and World Series. While their record at home is comparable to other teams’ records, the Metrodome is an intimidating space to walk into with thousands of screaming fans. This is part of the reason the Twins won in 1987 and 1991 and part of the reason why they can never be counted out of a playoff series where they have the advantage.

But our beloved Minnesota Twinkies don’t have the advantage. They have to play against Oakland, the best team in the American League, even if the Yankees have a half-game of a better record.

The Twins are dismal on the road. Their 40-40 record on the road is only a half-game off of the on the road record of the Cincinnati Reds, who missed the playoffs by 20.5 games. Clearly, the Twins are not at an advantage.

But if the Twins can pull out one of the first two games in Oakland and travel home to their trusty Metrodome, I could be wrong.

Stranger things have happened.

Here’s how it’s going to go down.

League Semi-finals

National League

The Atlanta Braves are too much for Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants. The Braves pitching will win it.

Braves over Giants: 3-1

With Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling healthy, the Diamondbacks are unbeatable in a short series, though the St. Louis Cardinals will try.

D’backs over Cards: 3-0

American League

I’ve talked at length of the Twins and A’s, so I won’t waste any more space.

A’s over Twins: 3-1